Summer League wrap: Thunder 88, “Magic” 77

One thing to point out before we get started “breaking down” this game, is that these games are about as important as your cousin’s ultimate frisbee tournaments. The final score doesn’t matter (OKC WON 88-77: CHAMPIONSHIP!!!) and the players are rusty from not having played in two months. AND IT’S JUST THE SUMMER LEAGUE. But there are few things to take with you from this game because after all, the purpose of these leagues are for players to get better and management to evaluate players.

Keep in mind this is the summer league and the competition isn’t exactly top notch (as perfectly illustrated by Orlando’s rag-tag bunch). So keep all this in perspective.

The Thunder’s roster was basically made up of actual roster players. The Magic had a lot of scrub type guys, but OKC was playing guys that are actually going to be on the team this fall. That should show you just how young this team is. Also, no non-Thunder player made it into the game. DeVon Hardin saw just a few minutes of action, but basically the entire game was played by guys tied to Oklahoma City’s roster.

One thing we definitely learned about Serge Ibaka: He is not a myth. He actually exists. And he was much better than I anticipated in every way. I expected a raw, athletic talent with hardly any refined skills. His offensive game was much more polished and crisp than I expected (13 points on 6 of 8 shooting). I figured he’d be a “score by dunk only” kind of player. But the first bucket was scored by Serge on a nice drop step post move. He was really solid in the post. He’s also much quicker than I thought. A couple of times he caught the ball at the free throw line and was able to take two dribbles and get around his man en route to the basket. He also had a little jumper, which was something I didn’t see coming as he swished a nice 12-footer. He turned the ball over some, but honestly, that was to be expected. It’s his first game over here and I’m sure he was pressing some, but I was very impressed.

James Harden is a serious player (17 points in 21 minutes). Forget Summer League perspective, the dude can play. His slashing ability is outstanding. He can create shots for teammates at will. He looks so smooth and so intelligent on the court. He hs such a feel for the game and his court vision is incredible. He may already actually be the best passer on this team. His mid-range jumper was off a little in the first half, but that’s no biggie because we know he can shoot. He didn’t force anything and took all solid shots. He knocked down a couple open threes off Russell Westbrook penetration and also hit a sweet 22-footer off a pick set by Ibaka. The first thing Harden did when he entered was drop a slick little backdoor bounce pass to Westbrook to which Russ was fouled and made both free throws. I’m excited.

Probably the most surprising thing was how polished B.J. Mullens looked offensively. I never imagined him having college three-point range, but he was confident in that shot and knocked it down multiple times. His form was good and he even displayed a nice back-t0-the-basket turnaround jumper. He was a little weak on the glass, a bit turnover prone and Greg Oden-like in in his fouling, but again, first game against professional opponents. He was very weak on help defense though. A guy his size should have more of an influence blocking shots, yet he wasn’t to be seen on a lot of rotations.

One thing I want to point out is that I couldn’t tell D.J. White (who also played well with 13-9) and Serge Ibaka apart at all (not in a racist they-all-look-the-same way). Partly because a “3” and “9” look kind of similar on a blurry webcast feed, but also because their games are kind of similar. Their movements are fairly comparable and their games mimic each other in a way.

I think Shaun Livingston is about to put Earl Watson either at the end of the bench or on the trading block really soon. He really looks like he’s getting everything back and I love the combo of him and Westbrook on the court together. Livingston is the slow, steady point man and Westbrook is the hectic, reckless attacking point guard. I think they complement each other really well.

Evidently, Harden kisses his hand after made threes. KD does the salute, Harden kisses his hand. He can stop and sign the whole alphabet for all I care as long as he knocks down open threes.

Russell Westbrook was really forcing things early. A couple turnovers, a couple ill-advised drives and some hesitation to shoot. I was discouraged a little. But reader okcnba left this wise comment: “You mean the turnover problems haven’t stopped after 2 months of not playing? NO WAY!”

David Thorpe added this comment about Westbrook via Twitter: “Westbrook is 3 steps ahead of his teammates. He misses KD and Green.” I think he definitely got acclimated to the speed of the game more in the second half because he slowed down and made better decisions. While he played more than I thought he would (33, team high), I think it was good for him to have to change gears and adapt to the teammates he had on the floor. He did finish with 22 points, nine assists and five rebounds, had four turnovers (three in the first half) and hit 16 of 18 from the line after all. Pretty good game.

One aside: What’s sadder? Really looking forward to a summer league game or eating Chicken Express twice in one day? I have no idea what the correct answer is, but at different times in my life I have been guilty of both.

Kyle Weaver somehow is the most unnoticed player on this team. Someone will make a shot and you’ll say, “Who was that? Livingston? Oh, that was Weaver? I didn’t even know he was in.” Both he and Robert Vaden didn’t make much of an impression. Weaver is a nice player but he just doesn’t seem to have a big-time impact when he’s on the floor.

I think it’s a Summer League rule to have at least one player on each team that is going to play out of control for the majority of the game. Makes things interesting. You never know when you’re going to get that wild, out of control, hilarious shot from somebody. Keeps you watching.

The sequence of Harden stealing the ball, passing ahead to Westbrook on the fly and Westbrook dropping a perfect dime back to Harden for a flush was a thing of beauty. If that doesn’t get you excited about what could be this year, nothing will. Well, maybe that and the thought of Robert Swift in someone else’s uniform.

I honestly can’t believe I just wrote 1,300 words about a summer league basketball game. Don’t tell anybody, please?

Players of course were going to be a bit out of sync after having not played basketball in a while and also having to play mostly with guys they’ve never seen before. The games are disorganized and there’s not a lot of sets being ran. You just kind of have to take things for what they are. But my intial impressions were that Shaun Livingston and James Harden looked very good.

Livingston was smooth and calculated, making smart plays and setting up teammates. He looked very agile and appeared to be moving even better than he was at the end of last year. Harden looked fantastic. He started out slow with the jumper, but he heated up and was deadly if given an open look. He was silky, making smart passes and opening up the floor for his teammates. Every five seconds I had to keep telling myself it was just a Summer League game, but James Harden has me seriously giddy.

Tomorrow’s game is at 6 p.m. CST against Indiana. Tune in if nothing at least for the outstanding commentary by Dante and Galante. It’s entertaining.

@bryanyeah. I think there is some hyper-criticalness & over-analysis. I guess it's to be expected with a new, young & exciting team.It's kinda crazy to label a guy based on a summer league game. Especially just 1 game.

It's actually kinda funny!

@alexI ran software update on QuickTime. I also downloaded the windows media component for OS-X & QuickTime.Re-started the computer & I was good.

It looked to me that Westbrook was pressing a little in the first qtr. That's not unreasonable as he is expected to trounce lowly summer leaguers. Ibaka had some nice skills and atheleticism, but lacked muscle. Both he and Mullens got pushed around in the paint. That said, I was pleasantly surprised by his play. Harden shot well and played smart-nothing wrong with that. While Mullens was better than what I saw of Swift last year, he is nothing more than a project. I wouldn't get overly excited about his NBA prospects. Realistically, his ceiling is eating a few minutes at center for a second unit. I still think we lack a banger in the paint- someone who physically punishes opponents for even stepping in the paint.

It's summer league. It's easy to get excited about, but rarely translates to NBA success. Desmond Mason was a summer league star and turned out to be solid, but not spectacular player. Others have had horrible summer leagues and gone on to NBA stardom. It is fun to see what happens, though.

@Air_ThurmanAmen. We can't get too worked up either way about anything. It's just one summer league game. I was certainly impressed with Harden's skill and assertiveness on the court, but I'm not ready to say he's an All-Star. What if he goes 2-10 with six turnovers today? You just have to keep it all in the proper perspective.

@NixSo if he goes 9-14 today are we going to be pumped and automatically assume he is an improved shooter? I'm not. I think it is kind of silly to get worked up either way about what happens in these games (even more so after the first game). It was nice to see Ibaka play well. Am I ready to say he is going to be a major factor for this team this seasom? No.

@NixIf you watched his release, the fluidity of his movements from chest to above head and the overall smoothness to it, then you would clearly have seen that there has been improvement in his shot. But that doesn't necessarily translate to the ball going in more in a 6-9 shot limited sample.

Oh, and it's been two and half months people. Did you really expect to see huge, dramatic improvement in such a limited time span?

GIVE ME MORE THUNDER!!!sorry!I'm jacked for the Pacers game today @ 6!! RW and Harden should both "go-off" today. I see them as becoming "homies" and really helping eachother get to the next level of their games. Pour it on, boys!!

The reason we're all so excited for the summer league games, at least why I'm so excited, is that half of this ridiculously young team is playing in Orlando. I can not imagine another team with 8 of their guys playing summer league (Westbrook, Harden, Mullens, Ibaka, Weaver, Livingston, White, Vaden). And two of the guys are starters!

If I ever started to edit any comment I ever made, I'd never be satisfied, and just eventually give up and delete it all. Which is also why only some of the things I say make any sense.

What's funny, is that I've spent about 8 hours checking this blog today. It's almost midnight, and I'm still here. Now that's addicted. I'm surprised actually. I didn't realize Summer League was also crack.

I think he definitely got accumulated to the speed of the game more in the second half because he slowed down and made betetr decisions.

lulz @ hasty Royce...

acclimated and better decisions.

I liked the Dante and Gallante stuff. Keeps things lighthearted and entertaining. But I'm a sucker for gimmick humor too, so the shamwow and nerds in basements stuff kept me grinning out loud all broadcast long.

Westbrook looked terrible most of the game, then padded his stats with garbage free throws. Kind of troubling. But he showed he could score against guys who won't be in the league, as if we didn't know that. Good win though for OKC.

To reiterate, the way Ibaka was moving, he really resembled White. Which is a huge compliment to a 19-year-old supposedly as raw as Ibaka. To look like a former All-American and Big 10 player of the year is pretty good for a guy that's not even close to touching his ceiling.

Something that no one has mentions and remains important is the fact that Ibaka is only 19! He was the youngest player in last years draft and apparently is playing above his experience! I didn't get to watch today but sounds like he is going to be a real factor.

Oh and we can get greedy and remember that Harden is 20 and Mullens is 19 and Russ still 20 :-D

@BobThat's exactly it for me Bob. If we were fielding a roster of 10 guys that have no chance of actually being here in October with one or two guys on the roster, it would be a light recap just looking at the rookies. But really, everyone important sans KD, Jeff Green, Thabo, Collison and Krstic were playing. Everybody that played today is actually a Thunder player.

@BryanIt's a mixture of "new franchise fever" and "almost our entire team is under 24 and playing in Orlando this week". There were times last season that we trotted out almost the same lineup we saw at periods today.

Nothing excites me more than hearing "gosh, we have another one of these today?" from the announcers. Can't wait to hear them tomorrow.

@BobAgree. They are terrible, sure the quality of summer league play is not always great, but it seemed like all they did was complain about how crappy the game was and how hard it was to watch. They are watching it live, while real fans are watching a fuzzy web-feed, but I was enjoying the hell out of getting my first look at the new guys.

I think instead of "short attention span theater" the were closer to "Mystery Science Theater 3000" due to the fact of the b-rate basketball game was. I guess during a meaningless game you have to make some type excitement. Although I pretty much rely on them to tell me which player is which due to the lack of HD

i want you guys to remember that had that been on nba tv they would have hired actual legitimate announcers who would not talk about prescription drugs and the finer aspects of mormon fashion. so yeah i think you know what you really want in the scheme of things. lol.

Dante and Galante were painful to listen to if you were trying to watch the game. They were occasionally funny, but when your trying to figure out who just made that play, they were nowhere into the game. I think they just found out OKC had a team this morning. Can't wait to listen to them all week!

Summer league games are like playing any basketball video game. Keep your finger on the turbo button and try to make the amazing plan.

@justinMy point exactly, I love Westbrook, but I love the Thunder more and he needs to learn to play at all paces of the game or it'll be time for another PG of the future. I'm not saying after 1 summer league game to get rid of him, but this shows me no improvement from him that's all

As was mentioned before, Westbrook is a super fast-paced guy, while he is playing with mullens, white, ibaka, and harden, all guys who seem to be more half court guys. The thunder thrived in uptempo games last year, so thats why Livingston looked much more comfortable playing the point, because he plays at a slower pace. I think this is good for russell to get practice playing slower.

I can understand Russel hasn't played in a while(atleast organized),but neither have anyone of the other players like White,Livingston,Ibaka and even our rookies, but that can't be an excuse for Westbrook when he's supposed to be our PG of the future.

I mean out of all of our players I think Russel played the worst 2 months or no 2 months.

but why does a league with its own television channel (that the cable company charges extra for), have its fans resorting to watching poor quality internet streams?? i mean the summer league is sanctioned by the NBA!

pardon my rant.i just spent an hour trying to figure out how to watch the game on a mac!

It's surprising to me that Mullens got more playing time than Harden, but if he continues playing as well as he did this afternoon (or, perhaps, even starts getting better?) I'll be quite OK if they do that the whole summer. He was the best surprise for me, personally.

And, according to the box score, we started Livingston at Forward? Whatevs.